Union private infantry uniform, from plate 172 of the "Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies", containing illustrations of uniforms worn by Union and Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War

Union private infantry in full marching order identified only as "W.H.W'.

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States of America as a working, viable republic.

The Union Army was made up of the permanent regular army of the United States, but further fortified, augmented, and strengthened by the many temporary units of dedicated volunteers as well as including those who were drafted in to service as conscripts. To this end, the Union Army fought and ultimately triumphed over the efforts of the Confederate States Army in the American Civil War.

Over the course of the war, 2,128,948 men enlisted in the Union Army,[1] including 178,895 colored troops; 25% of the white men who served were foreign-born.[2] Of these soldiers, 596,670 were killed, wounded or went missing,[3] the initial call-up was for just three months, after which many of these men chose to reenlist for an additional three years.

When the American Civil War began in April 1861, there were only 16,367 men in the U.S. Army, including 1,108 commissioned officers. Approximately 20% of these officers, most of them Southerners, resigned (willfully abandoning their legal commitments and responsibilities as officers in the military of the United States, to which each and every one of them had sworn an oath), choosing to tie their lives and fortunes to the Army of the Confederacy.[4]

With the Southern slave states declaring secession from the Union, and with this drastic shortage of men in the army, President Abraham Lincoln called on the states to raise a force of 75,000 men for three months to put down this subversive insurrection. Lincoln's call forced the border states to choose sides, and four seceded, making the Confederacy eleven states strong, it turned out that the war itself proved to be much longer and far more extensive in scope and scale than anyone on either side, Union North or Confederate South, expected or even imagined at the outset on the date of July 22, 1861. That was the day that Congress initially approved and authorized subsidy to allow and support a volunteer army of up to 500,000 men to the cause.

The call for volunteers initially was easily met by patriotic Northerners, abolitionists, and even immigrants who enlisted for a steady income and meals, over 10,000 Germans in New York and Pennsylvania immediately responded to Lincoln's call, and the French were also quick to volunteer. As more men were needed, however, the number of volunteers fell and both money bounties and forced conscription had to be turned to. Nevertheless, between April 1861 and April 1865, at least 2,128,948 men served in the Union Army, of whom the majority were volunteers.

It is a misconception that the South held an advantage because of the large percentage of professional officers who resigned to join the Confederate army, at the start of the war, there were 824 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy on the active list; of these, 296 resigned or were dismissed, and 184 of those became Confederate officers. Of the approximately 900 West Point graduates who were then civilians, 400 returned to the Union Army and 99 to the Confederate. Therefore, the ratio of Union to Confederate professional officers was 642 to 283.[5] (One of the resigning officers was Robert E. Lee, who had initially been offered the assignment as commander of a field army to suppress the rebellion. Lee disapproved of secession, but refused to bear arms against his native state, Virginia, and resigned to accept the position as commander of Virginian C.S. forces. He eventually became the commander of the Confederate army.) The South did have the advantage of other military colleges, such as The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute, but they produced fewer officers. Though officers were able to resign, enlisted soldiers did not have this right; which meant that they usually had to either desert or wait until their enlistment term was over in order to join the Confederate States Army. While the total number of those is unknown, only 26 enlisted men and non-commissioned officers of the regular army are known to have legally left the army to join the Confederate army when the war began.[6]

Each of these armies was usually commanded by a major general. Typically, the Department or District commander also had field command of the army of the same name, but some conflicts within the ranks occurred when this was not true, particularly when an army crossed a geographic boundary.

The regular army, the permanent United States Army, was intermixed into various formations of the Union Army, forming a cadre of experienced and skilled troops, they were regarded by many as elite troops and often held in reserve during battles in case of emergencies. This force was quite small compared to the massive state-raised volunteer forces that comprised the bulk of the Union Army.

Soldiers were organized by military specialty, the combat arms included infantry, cavalry, artillery, and other such smaller organizations such as the United States Marine Corps, which, at some times, was detached from its navy counterpart for land based operations. The Signal Corps was created and deployed for the first time, through the leadership of Albert J. Myer.

Below major units like armies, soldiers were organized mainly into regiments, the main fighting unit with which a soldier would march and be deployed with, commanded by a colonel, lieutenant colonel, or possibly a major. According to W. J. Hardee's "Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics" (1855), the primary tactics for riflemen and light infantry in use immediately prior and during the Civil War, there would typically be, within each regiment, ten companies, each commanded by a captain, and deployed according to the ranks of captains. Some units only possessed between four and eight companies and were generally known as battalions.[8] Regiments were almost always raised within a single state, and were generally referred by number and state, e.g. 54th Massachusetts, 20th Maine, etc.

Regiments were usually grouped into brigades under the command of a brigadier general. However, brigades were changed easily as the situation demanded; the regiment was the main form of permanent grouping. Brigades were usually formed once regiments reached the battlefield, according to where the regiment might be deployed, and alongside which other regiments.

Scott was an elderly veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War and could not perform his duties effectively, his successor, Maj. Gen. McClellan, built and trained the massive Union Army of the Potomac, the primary fighting force in the Eastern Theater. Although he was popular among the soldiers, McClellan was relieved from his position as general-in-chief because of his overcautious strategy and his contentious relationship with his commander-in-chief, President Lincoln. (He remained commander of the Army of the Potomac through the Peninsula Campaign and the Battle of Antietam.) His replacement, Major General Henry W. Halleck, had a successful record in the Western Theater, but was more of an administrator than a strategic planner and commander.

The champions of the Union – 1861 lithograph by Currier & Ives

Ulysses S. Grant was the final commander of the Union Army, he was famous for his victories in the West when he was appointed lieutenant general and general-in-chief of the Union Army in March 1864. Grant supervised the Army of the Potomac (which was formally led by his subordinate, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade) in delivering the final blows to the Confederacy by engaging Confederate forces in many fierce battles in Virginia, the Overland Campaign, conducting a war of attrition that the larger Union Army was able to survive better than its opponent. Grant laid siege to Lee's army at Petersburg, Virginia, and eventually captured Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. He developed the strategy of coordinated simultaneous thrusts against wide portions of the Confederacy, most importantly the Georgia and Carolinas Campaigns of William Tecumseh Sherman and the Shenandoah Valley campaign of Philip Sheridan. These campaigns were characterized by another strategic notion of Grant's-better known as total war—denying the enemy access to resources needed to continue the war by widespread destruction of its factories and farms along the paths of the invading Union armies.

Grant had critics who complained about the high numbers of casualties that the Union Army suffered while he was in charge, but Lincoln would not replace Grant, because, in Lincoln's words: "I cannot spare this man, he fights."

The decisive victories by Grant and Sherman resulted in the surrender of the major Confederate armies, the first and most significant was on April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Grant at Appomattox Court House. Although there were other Confederate armies that surrendered in the following weeks, such as Joseph E. Johnston's in North Carolina, this date was nevertheless symbolic of the end of the bloodiest war in American history, the end of the Confederate States of America, and the beginning of the slow process of Reconstruction.

In his 1997 book examining the motivations of the American Civil War's soldiers, For Cause and Comrades, historian James M. McPherson states that Union soldiers fought to preserve the United States, as well as to end slavery, stating that:

While restoration of the Union was the main goal for which they fought, they became convinced that this goal was unattainable without striking against slavery.

McPherson states that witnessing the slave system of the Confederacy first-hand also strengthened the anti-slavery views of Union soldiers,[10] who were appalled by its brutality.[10] He stated that "Experience in the South reinforced the antislavery sentiments of many soldiers."[10] One Pennsylvanian Union soldier spoke to a slave woman whose husband was whipped, and was appalled by what she had to tell him of slavery, he stated that "I thought I had hated slavery as much as possible before I came here, but here, where I can see some of its workings, I am more than ever convinced of the cruelty and inhumanity of the system."[10]

The Union Army was composed of many different ethnic groups, including large numbers of immigrants. About 25% of the white men who served in the Union Army were foreign-born.[2]This means that about 1,600,000 enlistments were made by men who were born in the United States, including about 200,000 African Americans. About 200,000 enlistments were by men born in one of the German states (although this is somewhat speculative since anyone serving from a German family tended to be identified as German regardless of where they were actually born)[citation needed].[11] About 200,000 soldiers and sailors were born in Ireland. Although some soldiers came from as far away as Malta, Italy, India, and Russia, most of the remaining foreign-born soldiers came from Great Britain and Canada.

African-American. Half were freedmen who lived in the North, and half were ex-slaves from the South, they served under mainly white officers in more than 160 "colored" regiments and in Federal U.S. regiments organized as the United States Colored Troops (USCT).[13][14][15][16]

Many immigrant soldiers formed their own regiments, such as the Irish Brigade (69th New York, 63rd New York, 88th New York, 28th Massachusetts, 116th Pennsylvania); the Swiss Rifles (15th Missouri); the Gardes Lafayette (55th New York); the Garibaldi Guard (39th New York); the Martinez Militia (1st New Mexico); the Polish Legion (58th New York); the German Rangers (52nd New York); the Cameron Highlanders (79th New York Volunteer Infantry); and the Scandinavian Regiment (15th Wisconsin). But for the most part, the foreign-born soldiers were scattered as individuals throughout units.

For comparison, the Confederate Army was not very diverse: 91% of Confederate soldiers were native born white men and only 9% were foreign-born white men, Irish being the largest group with others including Germans, French, Mexicans (though most of them simply happened to have been born when the Southwest was still part of Mexico), and British, some Confederate propaganda condemned foreign-born soldiers in the Union Army, likening them to the hated Hessians of the American Revolution. Also, a relatively small number of Native Americans (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek) fought for the Confederacy.

The inclusion of blacks as combat soldiers became a major issue. Eventually, it was realized, especially after the valiant effort of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Battle of Fort Wagner, that blacks were fully able to serve as competent and reliable soldiers. This was partly due to the efforts of Robert Smalls, who, while still a slave, won fame by defecting from the Confederacy, and bringing a Confederate transport ship which he was piloting, he later met with Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, to argue for including blacks in combat units. This led to the formation of the first combat unit for black soldiers, the 1st South Carolina Volunteers. Regiments for black soldiers were eventually referred to as United States Colored Troops. Black Soldiers were paid less than white Soldiers until late in the war and were, in general, treated harshly.

Battlefield supplies were a major problem, they were greatly improved by new techniques in preserving food and other perishables, and in transport by railroad. General Montgomery C. Meigs was one of the most important Union Army leaders in this field.

The Civil War drove many innovations in military tactics.[18] W. J. Hardee published the first revised infantry tactics for use with modern rifles in 1855. However, even these tactics proved ineffective in combat, as it involved massed volley fire, in which entire units (primarily regiments) would fire simultaneously, these tactics had not been tested before in actual combat, and the commanders of these units would post their soldiers at incredibly close range, compared to the range of the rifled musket, which led to very high mortality rates. In a sense, the weapons had evolved beyond the tactics, which would soon change as the war drew to a close.[19] Railroads provided the first mass movement of troops, the electric telegraph was used by both sides, which enabled political and senior military leaders to pass orders to and receive reports from commanders in the field.[20]

There were many other innovations brought by necessity. Generals were forced to reexamine the offensive minded tactics developed during the Mexican–American War where attackers could mass to within 100 yards of the defensive lines, the maximum effective range of smoothbore muskets. Attackers would have to endure one volley of inaccurate smoothbore musket fire before they could close with the defenders. But by the Civil War, the smoothbores had been replaced with rifled muskets, using the quick loadable minié ball, with accurate ranges up to 900 yards. Defense now dominated the battlefield. Now attackers, whether advancing in ordered lines or by rushes, were subjected to three or four aimed volleys before they could get among the defenders. This made offensive tactics that were successful only 20 years before nearly obsolete.[21]

Rioters attacking a building during the New York anti-draft riots of 1863

Desertion was a major problem for both sides. The daily hardships of war, forced marches, thirst, suffocating heat, disease, delay in pay, solicitude for family, impatience at the monotony and futility of inactive service, panic on the eve of battle, the sense of war-weariness, the lack of confidence in commanders, and the discouragement of defeat (especially early on for the Union Army), all tended to lower the morale of the Union Army and to increase desertion.[22][23]

In 1861 and 1862, the war was going badly for the Union Army and there were, by some counts, 180,000 desertions; in 1863 and 1864, the bitterest two years of the war, the Union Army suffered over 200 desertions every day, for a total of 150,000 desertions during those two years. This puts the total number of desertions from the Union Army during the four years of the war at nearly 350,000. Using these numbers, 15% of Union soldiers deserted during the war. Official numbers put the number of deserters from the Union Army at 200,000 for the entire war, or about 8% of Union Army soldiers, since desertion is defined as being AWOL for 30 or more days and some soldiers returned within that time period, as well as some deserters being labeled missing-in-action or vice versa, accurate counts are difficult to determine. Many historians estimate the "real" desertion rate in the Union Army as between 9–12%.[24] About 1 out of 3 deserters returned to their regiments, either voluntarily or after being arrested and being sent back. Many of the desertions were by "professional" bounty men, men who would enlist to collect the often large cash bonuses and then desert at the earliest opportunity to do the same elsewhere. If not caught and executed, it could prove a very lucrative criminal enterprise.[25][26]

The Irish were the main participants in the famous "New York Draft riots" of 1863.[27] Stirred up by the instigating rhetoric of Democratic politicians,[28] the Irish had shown the strongest support for Southern aims prior to the start of the war and had long opposed abolitionism and the free black population, regarding them as competition for jobs and blaming them for driving down wages. Alleging that the war was merely an upper class abolitionist war to free slaves who might move north and compete for jobs and housing, the poorer classes did not welcome a draft, especially one from which a richer man could buy an exemption. The poor formed clubs that would buy exemptions for their unlucky members, as a result of the Enrollment Act, rioting began in several Northern cities, the most heavily hit being New York City. A mob reported as consisting principally of Irish immigrants rioted in the summer of 1863, with the worst violence occurring in July during the Battle of Gettysburg, the mob set fire to everything from African American churches and an orphanage for "colored children" as well as the homes of certain prominent Protestant abolitionists. A mob was reportedly repulsed from the offices of the staunchly pro-Union New York Tribune by workers wielding and firing two Gatling guns, the principal victims of the rioting were African Americans and activists in the anti-slavery movement. Not until victory was achieved at Gettysburg could the Union Army be sent in; some units had to open fire to quell the violence and stop the rioters. By the time the rioting was over, perhaps up to 1,000 people had been killed or wounded.[29] There were a few small scale draft riots in rural areas of the Midwest and in the coal regions of Pennsylvania.[30][31]

^"General Orders No. 14". Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1855–1865. Kansas City: The Kansas City Public Library. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014. [V]ery few blacks serve in the Confederate armed forces, as compared to hundreds of thousands who serve for the Union.

^Shannon Smith Bennett, "Draft Resistance and Rioting." in Maggi M. Morehouse and Zoe Trodd, eds., Civil War America: A Social and Cultural History with Primary Sources (2013) ch 1

^Peter Levine, "Draft evasion in the North during the Civil War, 1863–1865." Journal of American History (1981): 816–834. onlineArchived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.

^Adrian Cook, The armies of the streets: the New York City draft riots of 1863 (1974).

^McPherson, James M. (1996). Drawn with the Sword: Reflections on the American Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. pp. 91–92. Rioters were mostly Irish Catholic immigrants and their children. They mainly attacked the members of New York's small black population, for a year, Democratic leaders had been telling their Irish-American constituents that the wicked 'Black Republicans' were waging the war to free the slaves who would come north and take away the jobs of Irish workers. The use of black stevedores as scabs in a recent strike by Irish dockworkers made this charge seem plausible, the prospect of being drafted to fight to free the slaves made the Irish even more receptive to demogogic rhetoric.

^Iver Bernstein, The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War (1990)

Canfield, Daniel T. "Opportunity Lost: Combined Operations and the Development of Union Military Strategy, April 1861 – April 1862." Journal of Military History 79.3 (2015).

Kahn, Matthew E., and Dora L. Costa. "Cowards and Heroes: Group Loyalty in the American Civil War." Quarterly journal of economics 2 (2003): 519–548. online version

Nevins, Allan. The War for the Union. Vol. 1, The Improvised War 1861–1862. The War for the Union. Vol. 2, War Becomes Revolution 1862–1863. Vol. 3, The Organized War 1863–1864. Vol. 4, The Organized War to Victory 1864–1865. (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1960–71. ISBN1-56852-299-1.)

Prokopowicz, Gerald J. All for the Regiment: the Army of the Ohio, 1861–1862 (UNC Press, 2014). online

1.
United States Army
–
The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President

2.
American Indian Wars
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These conflicts occurred in the current boundaries of the United States from the time of earliest colonial settlements until 1924. In many cases, wars resulted from competition for resources and land ownership as Europeans, Warfare and raiding also took place as a result of conflicts between European governments and later the United States. These governments enlisted Native Americans tribes to help them conduct warfare against each others settlements, after 1776, many conflicts were local, involving disputes over land use, and some entailed cycles of reprisal. In the 1800s, conflicts were spurred by ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, in the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 there were many armed conflicts between settlers and Native Americans. Prior to the Act of 1830, some conflicts were resolved through sale or exchange of territory through treaties between the government and specific tribes. The 1830 act authorized the removal of indigenous peoples who lived East of the Mississippi River to the West. As United States citizens continued to settle areas towards the Pacific, the policy of removal was refined to move some indigenous peoples to very specific reservations. The 2010 census found 2,932,248 Americans who identified themselves as being Native American, no consensus exists on how many native people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus, but extensive research has been and continues to be conducted. Estimates on the population of pre-Colombus North America range from a low of 2.1 million to 7 million people to 18 million, scholars believe that the overwhelming main causes were new infectious diseases carried by European explorers and traders. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to diseases, which had been chronic in Eurasian populations for over five centuries. For instance, some estimates indicate case fatality rates of 80–98% in Native American populations during smallpox epidemics. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, the actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given. Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate, from about 1600 onwards, the process of European colonization of North America by the English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Swedish was contested by various indigenous tribes. Similarly, in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, the British planned to set up an Indian nation in what is now the Ohio-Wisconsin area to block further American expansion. The U. S. protested and finally, in 1812, most Indian tribes, especially those allied with Tecumseh, supported the British and were ultimately defeated by General William Henry Harrison. The latter were defeated by General Andrew Jackson, during and after such warfare, many refugees from defeated tribes went over the border to Canada, those in the South went to Florida while it was under Spanish control. During the early 19th century, the government was under pressure by settlers in many regions to expel Native Americans from their areas. Some resisted fiercely, most notably the Seminoles in a series of wars in Florida and they were never finally defeated, although some Seminole did remove to Indian Territory

3.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864

4.
Battle of Fort Sumter
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Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U. S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor. On 26 December 1860, Major Robert Anderson of the U. S, an attempt by U. S. President James Buchanan to reinforce and resupply Anderson using the unarmed merchant ship Star of the West failed when it was fired upon by shore batteries on 9 January 1861. South Carolina authorities then seized all Federal property in the Charleston area except for Fort Sumter, during the early months of 1861, the situation around Fort Sumter increasingly began to resemble a siege. In March, Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard, Beauregard energetically directed the strengthening of batteries around Charleston harbor aimed at Fort Sumter. Conditions in the fort, growing ever dire due to shortages of men, food, the resupply of Fort Sumter became the first crisis of the administration of the newly inaugurated U. S. President Abraham Lincoln following his victory in the election of November 6,1860. Beginning at 4,30 a. m. on April 12, although the Union garrison returned fire, they were significantly outgunned and, after 34 hours, Major Anderson agreed to evacuate. There were no deaths on either side as a result of this engagement. Following the battle, there was support from both North and South for further military action. Lincolns immediate call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion resulted in an additional four southern states also declaring their secession, on February 7, the seven states adopted a provisional constitution for the Confederate States of America and established their temporary capital at Montgomery, Alabama. A February peace conference met in Washington, D. C. the remaining eight states declined pleas to join the Confederacy. The seceding states seized numerous Federal properties within their boundaries, including buildings, arsenals, President James Buchanan protested but took no military action in response. Several forts had been constructed in Charlestons harbor, including Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island was the oldest—it was the site of fortifications since 1776—and was the headquarters of the U. S. Army garrison. When the garrison began clearing away the dunes, the papers objected, Major Robert Anderson of the 1st U. S. Artillery regiment had been appointed to command the Charleston garrison that fall because of rising tensions, Anderson had served an earlier tour of duty at Fort Moultrie and his father had been a defender of the fort during the American Revolutionary War. Throughout the fall, South Carolina authorities considered both secession and the expropriation of property in the harbor to be inevitable. S. In contrast to Moultrie, Fort Sumter dominated the entrance to Charleston Harbor and, South Carolina authorities considered Andersons move to be a breach of faith. Buchanan, a former U. S. Secretary of State and diplomat, had used carefully crafted ambiguous language to Pickens, from Major Andersons standpoint, he was merely moving his existing garrison troops from one of the locations under his command to another. He had received instructions from the War Department on December 11, written by Major General Don Carlos Buell, Assistant Adjutant General of the Army and you are to hold possession of the forts in this harbor, and if attacked you are to defend yourself to the last extremity

5.
First Battle of Bull Run
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It was the first major battle of the American Civil War. The Unions forces were slow in positioning themselves, allowing Confederate reinforcements time to arrive by rail, each side had about 18,000 poorly trained and poorly led troops in their first battle. It was a Confederate victory, followed by a retreat of the Union forces. Yielding to political pressure, Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell led his unseasoned Union Army across Bull Run against the equally inexperienced Confederate Army of Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Confederate reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived from the Shenandoah Valley by railroad, the Confederates launched a strong counterattack, and as the Union troops began withdrawing under fire, many panicked and the retreat turned into a rout. McDowells men frantically ran without order in the direction of Washington, both armies were sobered by the fierce fighting and many casualties, and realized that the war was going to be much longer and bloodier than either had anticipated. The Battle of First Bull Run highlighted many of the problems, McDowell, with 35,000 men, was only able to commit about 18,000, and the combined Confederate forces, with about 32,000 men, committed only 18,000. Earlier, South Carolina and seven other Southern states had declared their secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. To suppress the rebellion and restore Federal law in the Southern states and he later accepted an additional 40,000 volunteers with three-year enlistments and increased the strength of the U. S. Army to almost 20,000. In Washington, D. C. as thousands of volunteers rushed to defend the capital, General in Chief Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott laid out his strategy to subdue the rebellious states. He proposed that an army of 80,000 men be organized and sail down the Mississippi River, while the Army strangled the Confederacy in the west, the U. S. Navy would blockade Southern ports along the eastern and Gulf coasts. The press ridiculed what they dubbed as Scotts Anaconda Plan, instead, many believed the capture of the Confederate capital at Richmond, only one hundred miles south of Washington, would quickly end the war. By July 1861 thousands of volunteers were camped in and around Washington, since General Scott was seventy-five years old and physically unable to lead this force, the administration searched for a more suitable field commander. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase championed fellow Ohioan, although McDowell was a West Point graduate, his command experience was limited. In fact, he had spent most of his career engaged in staff duties in the Adjutant Generals Office. While stationed in Washington he had become acquainted with Chase, a former Ohio governor and senator, McDowell immediately began organizing what became known as the Army of Northeastern Virginia,35,000 men arranged in five divisions. Under public and political pressure to begin operations, McDowell was given very little time to train the newly inducted troops. Units were instructed in the maneuvering of regiments, but they received little or no training at the brigade or division level and he was reassured by President Lincoln, You are green, it is true, but they are green also, you are all green alike

6.
Battle of Wilson's Creek
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The Battle of Wilsons Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. Fought on August 10,1861, near Springfield, Missouri, at the beginning of the war, Missouri maintained an officially neutral status. However, its governor, Claiborne Fox Jackson, began to work with the Confederacy to bring Missouri out of the Union by purchasing arms from, the two sides repeatedly skirmished, most notably in the Camp Jackson affair, the Battle of Boonville, and the Battle of Carthage. Jacksons support for secession resulted in his removal by a convention in July. Jackson refused to accept the maneuver as valid, and continued to act as Governor of Missouri, on August 9, both sides formulated plans to attack the other. At about 5,00 a. m. on August 10, Lyon, Confederate cavalry received the first blow and retreated from the high ground, later referred to as Bloody Hill, and infantry soon rushed up to stabilize their positions. The Confederates attacked the Union forces three times during the day, but failed to break through the Union line, when Lyon was killed during the battle and General Thomas William Sweeny wounded, Major Samuel D. Sturgis assumed command of the Union forces. Meanwhile, the Confederates routed Sigels column south of Skeggs Branch, following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11,00 a. m. the Union withdrew. When Sturgis realized that his men were exhausted and lacking ammunition, the Confederates were too disorganized and ill-equipped to pursue the retreating Federal forces. The Confederate victory buoyed Southern sympathizers in Missouri and served as a springboard for a bold thrust north that carried Sterling Price, in late October, a convention organized by Jackson met in Neosho and passed out an ordinance of secession. Although the state remained in the Union for the remainder of the war, today, the National Park Service operates Wilsons Creek National Battlefield on the site of the original conflict. At the beginning of the American Civil War, Missouri declared that it would be a neutral in the conflict. On April 20,1861, a secessionist mob seized the Liberty Arsenal, the neutrality was put to a major test on May 10,1861, in what became known as the Camp Jackson Affair. Governor Claiborne F. Jackson had called out the Missouri Volunteer Militia to drill on the edge of St. Louis in Lindell Grove, the governor had clandestinely obtained artillery from the Confederacy and smuggled it into the militia encampment – referred to as Camp Jackson. Nathaniel Lyon was aware of this shipment and was concerned the militia would move on the St. Louis Arsenal. Thomas W. Sweeny was put in command of the arsenals defense, when he marched the prisoners through the streets to the arsenal, some angry members of the crowd began to press against the procession. Taunts and jostling eventually led to gunfire and many deaths, mostly civilians, a day later, the Missouri General Assembly created the Missouri State Guard theoretically to defend the state from attacks from perceived enemies from either side of the war. The governor appointed Sterling Price as the commander with the rank of general of state forces

7.
Peninsula Campaign
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The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B, McClellan, was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia, intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. McClellan landed his army at Fort Monroe and moved northwest, up the Virginia Peninsula, Magruders defensive position on the Warwick Line caught McClellan by surprise. His hopes for a quick advance foiled, McClellan ordered his army to prepare for a siege of Yorktown, just before the siege preparations were completed, the Confederates, now under the direct command of Johnston, began a withdrawal toward Richmond. The first heavy fighting of the campaign occurred in the Battle of Williamsburg, in which the Union troops managed some tactical victories, an amphibious flanking movement to Elthams Landing was ineffective in cutting off the Confederate retreat. In the Battle of Drewrys Bluff, an attempt by the U. S. Navy to reach Richmond by way of the James River was repulsed. As McClellans army reached the outskirts of Richmond, a battle occurred at Hanover Court House. The battle was inconclusive, with casualties, but it had lasting effects on the campaign. On August 20,1861, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan formed the Army of the Potomac, with himself as its first commander. During the summer and fall, McClellan brought a degree of organization to his new army. It was an achievement, in which he came to personify the Army of the Potomac. He created defenses for Washington that were almost impregnable, consisting of 48 forts and strong points, on November 1,1861, Gen. Winfield Scott retired and McClellan became general in chief of all the Union armies. The president expressed his concern about the vast labor involved in the role of army commander and general in chief. On January 27, Lincoln issued an order that all of his armies to begin offensive operations by February 22. On January 31, he issued an order for the Army of the Potomac to move overland to attack the Confederates at Manassas Junction. Although Lincoln believed his plan was superior, he was relieved that McClellan finally agreed to begin moving, on March 8, doubting McClellans resolve, Lincoln called a council of war at the White House in which McClellans subordinates were asked about their confidence in the Urbanna plan. They expressed their confidence to varying degrees, after the meeting, Lincoln issued another order, naming specific officers as corps commanders to report to McClellan. McClellan retooled his plan so that his troops would disembark at Fort Monroe, Virginia, in the Battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia defeated wooden U. S

8.
Battle of Shiloh
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The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7,1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union force known as the Army of the Tennessee under Major General Ulysses S. T. Beauregard, launched an attack on Grants army from its base in Corinth. Johnston was killed in action during the fighting, Beauregard, who succeeded to command of the army. Overnight Grant was reinforced by one of his own divisions stationed further north and was joined by three divisions from another Union army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. This allowed them to launch a counterattack the next morning which completely reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day. On April 6, the first day of the battle, the Confederates struck with the intention of driving the Union defenders away from the river, Johnston hoped to defeat Grants army before the anticipated arrival of General Buells Army of the Ohio. The Confederate battle lines became confused during the fighting, and Grants men instead fell back to the northeast. A Union position on a sunken road, nicknamed the Hornets Nest. Benjamin Prentisss and William H. L. Wallaces divisions, provided critical time for the remainder of the Union line to stabilize under the protection of artillery batteries. Wallace was mortally wounded when the position collapsed, while several regiments from the two divisions were surrounded and surrendered. General Johnston was shot in the leg and bled to death while leading an attack. Beauregard, his second in command, acknowledged how tired the army was from the days exertions, Confederate forces were forced to retreat from the area, ending their hopes of blocking the Union advance into northern Mississippi. Smiths orders were to lead raids intended to capture or damage the railroads in southwestern Tennessee, Brig. Gen. William T. Shermans troops arrived from Paducah, Kentucky, to conduct a similar mission to break the railroads near Eastport, Mississippi. Halleck also ordered Grant to advance his Army of West Tennessee on an invasion up the Tennessee River, Grant left Fort Henry and headed upriver, arriving at Savannah, Tennessee, on March 14, and established his headquarters on the east bank of the river. Grants troops set up camp farther upriver, five divisions at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, meanwhile, Hallecks command was enlarged through consolidation of Grants and Buells armies and renamed the Department of the Mississippi. With Buells Army of the Ohio under his command, Halleck ordered Buell to concentrate with Grant at Savannah, Buell began a march with much of his army from Nashville, Tennessee, and headed southwest toward Savannah. The railroad was a supply line connecting the Mississippi River at Memphis, Tennessee to Richmond. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant developed a reputation during the war for being concerned with his own plans than with those of the enemy

9.
Jackson's Valley Campaign
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Jacksons Valley Campaign was Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Stonewall Jacksons famous spring 1862 campaign through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the American Civil War. Jackson suffered a defeat at the First Battle of Kernstown against Col. On May 8, after more than a month of skirmishing with Banks, Jackson moved deceptively to the west of the Valley, Frémonts army in the Battle of McDowell, preventing a potential combination of the two Union armies against him. Jackson then headed down the Valley once again to confront Banks, concealing his movement in the Luray Valley, Jackson joined forces with Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell and captured the Federal garrison at Front Royal on May 23, causing Banks to retreat to the north. On May 25, in the First Battle of Winchester, Jackson defeated Banks, bringing in Union reinforcements from eastern Virginia, Brig. Gen. James Shields recaptured Front Royal and planned to link up with Frémont in Strasburg. Jackson was now threatened by three small Union armies, withdrawing up the Valley from Winchester, Jackson was pursued by Frémont and Shields. Jackson followed up his campaign by forced marches to join Gen. Robert E. Lee for the Seven Days Battles outside Richmond. His audacious campaign elevated him to the position of the most famous general in the Confederacy and has been studied ever since by military organizations around the world, in the spring of 1862 Southern morale. Was at its nadir and prospects for the Confederacys survival seemed bleak, following the successful summer of 1861, particularly the First Battle of Bull Run, its prospects declined quickly. Union armies in the Western Theater, under Ulysses S. Grant and others, captured Southern territory and won significant battles at Fort Donelson, and in the East, Maj. Gen. George B. During the Civil War, the Shenandoah Valley was one of the most strategic geographic features of Virginia, by the conventions of local residents, the upper Valley referred to the southwestern end, which had a generally higher elevation than the lower Valley to the northeast. Moving up the Valley meant traveling southwest, for instance, between the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River, Massanutten Mountain soared 2,900 feet and separated the Valley into two halves for about 50 miles, from Strasburg to Harrisonburg. During the 19th century, there was but a road that crossed over the mountain. The Valley offered two advantages to the Confederates. First, a Northern army invading Virginia could be subjected to Confederate flanking attacks pouring through the many wind gaps across the Blue Ridge, early in the Valley Campaigns of 1864. In contrast, the orientation of the Valley offered little advantage to a Northern army headed toward Richmond, but denying the Valley to the Confederacy would be a significant blow. It was an agriculturally rich area—the 2, If the Federals could reach Staunton in the upper Valley, they would threaten the vital Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, which ran from Richmond to the Mississippi River. Stonewall Jackson wrote to a member, If this Valley is lost

10.
Battle of South Mountain
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The Battle of South Mountain—known in several early Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap—was fought September 14,1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes, Cramptons, Turners, and Foxs Gaps. McClellan, commanding the Union Army of the Potomac, needed to pass through gaps in his pursuit of Confederate General Robert E. Lees precariously divided Army of Northern Virginia. Although the delay bought at South Mountain would allow him to reunite his army and forestall defeat in detail, South Mountain is the name given to the continuation of the Blue Ridge Mountains after they enter Maryland. It is an obstacle that separates the Hagerstown Valley and Cumberland Valley from the eastern part of Maryland. After Lee invaded Maryland, a copy of an order, known as order 191, from this, McClellan learned that Lee had split his forces, sending one wing under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson to lay siege to Harpers Ferry. The rest of Lees army was posted at Boonsboro under command of Maj. Gen. James Longstreet. C, to counter the Confederate invasion, McClellan lead the Army of the Potomac west in an effort to force battle on the isolated parts of Lees divided force. McClellan temporarily organized his army into three wings for the attacks on the passes, Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, the Right Wing, commanded the I Corps and IX Corps. The Right Wing was sent to Turners Gap and Foxs Gap in the north, the Left Wing, commanded by Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, consisting of his own VI Corps and Maj. Gen. Darius N. Couchs division of the IV Corps, was sent to Cramptons Gap in the south, the Center Wing, under Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner, was in reserve. From Boonsboro, Lee had sent a column under Maj Gen. James Longstreet northward to respond to a threat from Pennsylvania. After learning of McClellans intelligence coup, Lee quickly recalled Longstreets forces to reinforce the South Mountain passes, on the day of the battle, the only Confederate force posted around Boonsboro was a five-brigade division under Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill. At the southernmost point of the battle, near Burkittsville, Confederate cavalry, franklin spent three hours deploying his forces. A Confederate later wrote of a lion making exceedingly careful preparations to spring on a little mouse. Franklin deployed the division of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum on the right and they seized the gap and captured 400 prisoners, mostly men who were arriving as late reinforcements from Brig. Gen. Howell Cobbs brigade. Confederate Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill, deploying 5,000 men over more than 2 miles, Burnside sent Hookers I Corps to the right and Turners Gap. The Union Iron Brigade attacked Colonel Alfred H. Colquitts brigade along the National Road, driving it back up the mountain, hooker positioned three divisions opposite two peaks located one mile north of the gap. Darkness and the terrain prevented the complete collapse of Lees line

11.
Battle of Antietam
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After pursuing the Confederate general Robert E. Lee into Maryland, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan of the Union Army launched attacks against Lees army, in defensive positions behind Antietam Creek. At dawn on September 17, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hookers corps mounted an assault on Lees left flank. Attacks and counterattacks swept across Millers Cornfield, and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church, Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. In the afternoon, Union Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsides corps entered the action, capturing a bridge over Antietam Creek. At a crucial moment, Confederate Maj. Gen. A. P. Hills division arrived from Harpers Ferry and launched a counterattack, driving back Burnside. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, during the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, despite having superiority of numbers, McClellans attacks failed to achieve force concentration, which allowed Lee to counter by shifting forces and moving interior lines to meet each challenge. Therefore, despite ample reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes, McClellan had halted Lees invasion of Maryland, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without interference from the cautious McClellan. McClellans refusal to pursue Lees army led to his removal from command by President Abraham Lincoln in November, although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory. Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia—about 55,000 men—entered the state of Maryland on September 3,1862, emboldened by success, the Confederate leadership intended to take the war into enemy territory. Lees invasion of Maryland was intended to run simultaneously with an invasion of Kentucky by the armies of Braxton Bragg and it was also necessary for logistical reasons, as northern Virginias farms had been stripped bare of food. They sang the tune Maryland, My Maryland, as they marched, but by the fall of 1862 pro-Union sentiment was winning out, especially in the western parts of the state. Civilians generally hid inside their houses as Lees army passed through their towns, or watched in cold silence, while the Army of the Potomac was cheered and encouraged. While McClellans 87, 000-man Army of the Potomac was moving to intercept Lee, the order indicated that Lee had divided his army and dispersed portions geographically, thus making each subject to isolation and defeat if McClellan could move quickly enough. McClellan waited about 18 hours before deciding to take advantage of this intelligence and reposition his forces, McClellans Army of the Potomac, bolstered by units absorbed from John Popes Army of Virginia, included six infantry corps. The I Corps, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of the divisions of, the II Corps, under Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner, consisted of the divisions of, Maj. Gen. Israel B. The V Corps, under Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter, consisted of the divisions of, the VI Corps, under Maj. Gen. William B. Franklin, consisted of the divisions of, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, Maj. Gen. William F. Baldy Smith

12.
Battle of Stones River
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Of the major battles of the Civil War, Stones River had the highest percentage of casualties on both sides. Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecranss Army of the Cumberland marched from Nashville, Tennessee, on December 26,1862, on December 31, each army commander planned to attack his opponents right flank, but Bragg struck first. A massive assault by the corps of Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee, followed by that of Leonidas Polk, repeated Confederate attacks were repulsed from this concentrated line, most notably in the cedar Round Forest salient against the brigade of Col. William B. Bragg attempted to continue the assault with the corps of Maj. Gen. John C, Breckinridge, but the troops were slow in arriving and their multiple piecemeal attacks failed. Fighting resumed on January 2,1863, when Bragg ordered Breckinridge to assault the well-fortified Union position on a hill to the east of the Stones River, faced with overwhelming artillery, the Confederates were repulsed with heavy losses. Falsely believing that Rosecrans was receiving reinforcements, Bragg chose to withdraw his army on January 3 to Tullahoma and this caused Bragg to lose the confidence of the Army of Tennessee. Although Braggs newly combined force was up to 38,000 veteran troops, Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, the Union commander at Perryville, was equally passive and refused to attack Bragg. His army, joined with Smiths Army of Kentucky and together renamed the Army of Tennessee as of November 20, the loss of Stevensons 7,500 men would be sorely felt in the coming battle. Bragg reorganized his army, and Kirby Smith left for East Tennessee, Bragg commanded two corps, under Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee and Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk (divisions of Maj. Gens. Benjamin F. Cheatham and Jones M. Withers, and a command under Brig. Gen. Joseph Wheeler. Davis refused to relieve either Bragg or the rebellious generals, on the Union side, President Abraham Lincoln had become frustrated with Buells passivity and replaced him with Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, victor of the recent battles of Iuka and Corinth. Rosecrans moved his XIV Corps to Nashville, Tennessee, and was warned by Washington that he too would be replaced if he did not move aggressively against Bragg, however, Rosecrans took ample time to reorganize and train his forces and resupply his army. He did not begin his march in pursuit of Bragg until December 26, the relatively small battle that followed Morgans surprise attack was an embarrassing Union defeat, resulting in many captured Union supplies and soldiers. The Union also engaged in a cavalry raid. On December 26, the day Rosecrans marched from Nashville, a force under Brig. Gen. Samuel P. Carter raided the upper Tennessee Valley from Manchester. Until January 5, Carters men destroyed railroad bridges and fought a few skirmishes, but none of the cavalry raids, Confederate or Union, had any significant effect on the Stones River Campaign. The left wing of 14,500 men under Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden took a route that was parallel to the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, passing through La Vergne and south of Smyrna. The right wing of 16,000 men under Maj. Gen. Alexander M. McCook marched south along the Nolensville Turnpike to Nolensville, south to Triune, the center wing of 13,500 men under Maj. Gen

The Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the …

"Whistling Dick" was the name given to this specific Confederate 18 pounder because of the peculiar noise made by its projectiles. It was part of the defensive batteries facing the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. On May 28, 1863, its fire sank the USS Cincinnati.

Fighting at the crater at the Third Louisiana Redan

Shirley's House, also known as the White House, during the siege of Vicksburg, 1863. Union troops of Logan's division set about as engineers and sappers to undermine Confederate fortifications but they had to stay under cover for fear of Confederate sharpshooters.

The Chattanooga Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil …

Image: Grant and Bragg

Chattanooga viewed from the North bank of the Tennessee River, 1863. The Union Army pontoon bridge is shown on the left, Lookout Mountain at the right rear. The small hill in front of Lookout Mountain is Cameron Hill, which was significantly flattened during 20th century development of the city.

Engraving of the view north from Point Lookout on Lookout Mountain over the Chattanooga region, from Battles and Leaders, 1885

The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia …

Map of Southeastern Virginia

Union marches and operations in Central Virginia (1864–65)

Union troops cross the Rapidan

View of the front of Ellwood Manor, originally built around 1790 by William Jones. During the battle this structure, then owned by J. Horace Lacy, was used as the headquarters of Gouverneur Warren. Ellwood is the last remaining structure from the Battle of the Wilderness still standing today.